You may have heard the term "personalized medicine." This means your medical care is based on your genes and your specific disease. Genes are the information that tells the cells in your body how to grow and develop. Many cancers affect or involve specific genes. Learn more about cancer and your genes. This approach can also be called "precision medicine."

Many people with cancer may experience strong emotions, including fear, anger, or sadness. Most family members and friends want to offer their help and support. But it can be difficult to discuss cancer with someone who has never had the disease.

Pharmacogenomics studies how medicine interacts with inherited genes. This includes how inherited genes affect the way medications work for each person. Genetic differences mean that a drug can be safe for one person but harmful for another. One person may experience severe side effects from it. Another may not, even when given a similar dose.

The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is used to find blood in the feces, or stool. An FOBT finds blood in the stool that you cannot see. Blood in the stool may be a sign of colorectal cancer or another medical problem, such as an ulcer or polyps. Polyps are growths that develop on the inner wall of the colon and rectum.

Surgery is a common treatment for cancer. Like all cancer treatments, surgery has benefits, risks, and side effects. The types and severity of side effects vary from person to person based on several factors:

• Location and type of cancer

• Type of surgery

• Other treatments received before surgery, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy

• Your general health

• The symptoms you had before surgery

A colostomy is surgery to create an opening called a stoma. The opening creates a passage from the large intestine to the outside of your body. This is so that solid stool and gas can leave the body through the stoma instead of passing through the rectum. The waste is collected in a pouch worn on the outside of the body. A colostomy can be temporary or permanent.

What is the large intestine?

The large intestine is the lowest section of the digestive system. It has two parts, the colon and the rectum.

Endoscopy is a procedure that allows a doctor to view the inside of a person's body. Doctors use it to diagnose diseases in the following parts of the body:

• Esophagus

• Stomach

• Colon

• Ears

• Nose

• Throat

• Heart

• Urinary tract

• Joints

• Abdomen

A person who has had a cancer diagnosis is oftentimes called a "cancer survivor." When people talk about "survivorship," they are usually referring to navigating their life experiences and challenges resulting from their cancer diagnosis.